Black salon owner sues Kim Kardashian over ‘SKKN’ trademark
“It’s clear that I established my brand first,” beauty entrepreneur Cydnie Lundsford said.
Weeks after Kim Kardashian filed to trademark her new beauty brands SKKN and SKKN by KIM, her legal team received a cease and desist letter from a Black business owner who is already using the unique moniker.
Lawyers for Beauty Concepts LLC claim the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based brand has been offering salon, skincare, and spa services under its SKKN+ brand name since July 2017.
Beauty Concepts, owned by 28-year-old Cydnie Lunsford, uses the same SKKN block letters on its website and social media handles. On March 28, the brand applied to trademark the SKKN+ name and Kardashian filed her own trademark on March 30, according to reports.
TMZ notes that the “company claims it’s invested considerable time, effort and money to develop and market its SKKN+ services over the last three years, and Kim’s play for the same name would cause confusion in the marketplace,” the outlet reports.
“I have painstakingly built my successful small business with my own sweat equity, hard work, and research,” said Lunsford. “It’s clear that I established my brand first.”
Kardashian’s attorney, Michael G. Rhodes, told TMZ, “We certainly appreciate and support small businesses, and our hat is off to Ms. Lunsford. But the question at hand is one of trademark law and we’ve not done anything deserving of legal action by her.”
He added, “We are disappointed that she has chosen to run to the media knowing that we were scheduling a call for tomorrow, requested by her attorney. So while disagreeing with the letter, we’re hopeful that we can smooth things over once both sides speak.”
On Thursday, Kardashian’s SKIMS shapewear brand dropped part two of its new Outdoor Basics line.
As reported by Entertainment Tonight, the summer collection features a bike short, bralette, legging, t-shirt, and tank, made from breathable, garment-dyed cotton. The items are available in sizes XXS to 4X.
Kardashian shared images from the campaign on Instagram, noting that the collection was “Made in LA with breathable garment-dyed cotton and nature-inspired colors.”
Meanwhile, the reality TV star is currently in the process of revamping her KKW Beauty brand. Kardashian announced that she will be shutting down the site in August.
“On August 1 at midnight, we will be shutting down the kkwbeauty.com site so that we can come back to you under a completely new brand with new formulas that are more modern, innovative, and packaged in an elevated and sustainable new look,” she wrote in a July 6 Instagram post.
Kardashian launched KKW Beauty in June 2017.
Last fall, Kardashian announced that the 20th season of her family’s reality series would be the last.
“It is with heavy hearts that we’ve made the difficult decision as a family to say goodbye to Keeping Up with the Kardashians. After what will be 14 years, 20 seasons, hundreds of episodes and numerous spin-off shows, we are beyond grateful to all of you who’ve watched us for all of these years,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
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